For many, the off-season is an overlooked or undervalued, time of year. You have to take time off at some point. You’ve raced and trained hard all season. Now it’s November, and your still training like you have been? You risk burnout, overtraining, and not getting the recovery you need both mentally and physically.
Read morePsychology and the Athlete
When race performance is far off the mark, compared to training performance, a coach should include additional mental skills and training for their athlete to help address any psychological challenges they may be facing. Any number of factors can be the cause for poor performance on race day. If this is a chronic issue, it is prudent to enlist the assistance of a skilled sports psychologist to provide assessment information on the athlete based on interviews, observations, and potentially some psychological testing.
Read moreImproving Running Economy
Improving the running economy of your athlete is a goal of every coach. There are numerous methods that we can employ to ensure that we are striving to maximize the economy of our athletes to its highest level. To that point, running economy can be gained through both mechanical, as well as physiological, gains.
Read moreDoes Being a Successful Athlete Make One A Good Coach?
Just because someone was a pro or elite athlete doesn’t mean they can turn that around and apply sound training philosophies to someone else. I’m not saying it can’t happen. There are great coaches out there that used to perform at the top level that I completely respect. But that shouldn’t be your single determining factor.
It's not hard to throw volume at someone and build the endurance to finish an Ironman. But, creating a plan that builds endurance while incorporating quality and intensity to reduce the effects of the physiological limiters of the athlete. A plan that provides improvements in economy – all while ensuring that periodization is dialed in. This is what you need to see.
Read moreMade The Big Time - I'm In Trouble With The USOC
I received a phone call the other morning. I didn't recognize the phone number, but it was here in Colorado Springs. Upon answering I was told I was speaking to an individual at the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and they were concerned over a picture, and some verbiage, on my coaching web site, and Facebook page.
I had used a picture of the Olympic Training Center pool to promote my swim club on Facebook. It was taken well over a year ago while taking my nephew and Mother-in-law on a tour of the OTC, (where I am a coach of record for a swim club). Nobody was in the pool at the time. But, apparently, using that photo could lead someone to think that I was offering services at the OTC. More importantly, I did not have permission from the USOC to use the photo. Fair enough - I should have known better (really, I should have) and told the individual that I'd take the photo down immediately.
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